Rating each game on Georgia’s 2019 schedule in terms of fan excitement

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On a scale of 1-10, how excited are you for the 2019 Georgia football slate?

As DawgNation’s Mike Griffith did a good job of pointing out, Georgia didn’t get any favors. The Bulldogs face five teams who will be coming off bye weeks, as well as a very daunting closing stretch of at Auburn, home for Texas A&M and at Georgia Tech.

But in terms of opponents on the schedule, it’s tough to beat what Georgia got. The Bulldogs welcome both Notre Dame and Texas A&M to Sanford Stadium and get two bye weeks this year (so you now have two wedding dates to pick from, should you want a fall wedding for some reason). So let’s take a 10,000-foot view at the Georgia schedule and see just how excited fans should be from week to week.

Week 1 (Aug 31): At Vanderbilt, Excitement level: 6: On the one hand, a trip to Nashville is usually pretty fun and it’s a more fun game to look forward to than say Austin Peay. But to start off with an SEC foe could be tricky, even if Vanderbilt is breaking in a new quarterback as Kyle Shurmur is set to graduate after the year.

Week 4 (Sep. 21): Home vs. Notre Dame, Excitement level: 10: If you can’t get excited about this game, you need help. It should be a match-up of Top 25 teams. And just about every Georgia fan remembers how great it was the last time the Bulldogs played Notre Dame.

Week 5 (Sept 28): Bye week

Week 6 (Oct. 5): At Tennessee, Excitement level: 7: So the trip to Knoxville isn’t as much fun as Nashville, but beating Tennessee in Neyland Stadium is way better than beating Vanderbilt. Hopefully Georgia can replicate its 41-0 beatdown of the 2017 visit to Tennessee.

Week 7 (Oct. 12): Home vs. South Carolina, Excitement level: 8: South Carolina has tried to make things chippy since Will Muschamp arrived, but that hasn’t led to any wins yet. But given that the Gamecocks seem to be the SEC East team most likely to push Georgia for an SEC East title, this game should be a lot of fun.

Week 8 (Oct. 19) Home vs. Kentucky, Excitement level 5: Much like Vanderbilt, Georgia usually wins when these two teams play. Hopefully this is a night game, which should make things more fun.

Week 9 (Oct. 26) Bye week

Week 10 (Nov. 2) Vs. Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., Excitement level 10: It’s the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, so you should already be excited about this game. Factor in that Georgia still looks worlds better than the Gators, UGA fans should be pumped about a chance to dunk on Florida again.

Week 11 (Nov. 9) Home vs. Missouri, Excitement level 4: Sandwiched between Florida and Auburn, this has all the makings of a trap game. Plus Missouri will have to replace record-setting quarterback Drew Lock, which is no easy task.

Week 12 (Nov. 16) At Auburn, Excitement level 8: Auburn may not be the most fun trip, but it is the easiest one to make for some Georgia fans who want to visit an SEC foe. Hopefully the 2019 game goes better than the 2017 game.

Week 13 (Nov. 23) Home vs. Texas A&M, Excitement level: 10: Senior day, final home game of the year, what should be a pretty good Texas A&M team in year two under Jimbo Fisher. What more could you ask for, other than a Georgia win over the Aggies?

Week 14 (Nov. 30) At Georgia Tech, Excitement level 2: Maybe it’s because Georgia hasn’t lost to Georgia Tech in Atlanta since Bill Clinton was the President, but most Georgia fans may already be looking ahead to a hopeful appearance in the SEC Championship game, which is set for Dec. 7.

Overall Excitement level 9: It’s a tougher schedule than it has been in year’s past but it features a great home slate and road games that are drivable depending on where you are coming from.

Kirby X Quavo

For those who missed it, hip-hop star Quavo was at Georgia’s practice on Tuesday, as he’s continued to support Georgia in a variety of ways. For those who don’t know who Quavo is, he is one of the members of Migos, an incredibly successful hip-hop group that has churned out hits like “Bad and Boujee,” “Stir Fry,” “Pipe It Up” and “Walk it, Talk It.”

While not all Georgia fans may understand why this is a big deal, this is definitely something recruits want to see. Quavo, who was born in Athens and attended Berkmar High School in Gwinnett County, is one of the biggest stars in music.

Quavo also celebrated with Georgia players after the Rose Bowl win over Oklahoma.

Think of how cool it must be to be practicing in front of your favorite artists. While Quavo and Migos might not be everyone’s cup of tea, this is something current and future players notice.

Kirby Smart compares Drew Lock to two NFL quarterbacks, but not necessarily the two you’d want

People love to make comparisons, especially when it comes to college and NFL quarterbacks. In this space on Tuesday, we compared Missouri’s Lock to Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills.

But when Kirby Smart met with the media on Tuesday night, he brought up two different names, even though he admits he doesn’t like doing player comparisons.

“I hate comparing guys like that, [but] there’s arm strength [Matt] Stafford-like, [Jay] Cutler,” Smart said. “Those were guys I had to coach against who were elite arm talent. He’s a good athlete as well, one of the better quarterbacks we’ll face.”

While Stafford and Cutler are both talented, they aren’t exactly what fans clamor for in an NFL quarterback. Despite all of Stafford’s success, he’s yet to win a playoff game in the nine seasons he’s been the Lions starting quarterback. As for Cutler, while he did have some great seasons, he also drove fans mad with his carelessness with the football and his general attitude.

Lock should no doubt take what Smart said as a compliment, given that Stafford and Cutler have had long NFL careers. But no young quarterback is saying they want to be like those Cutler and Stafford. They want to be like the Peyton Manning and Tom Brady’s of the world.

Make sure to come out to Marlow Tavern’s on Thursday

Want to talk some Georgia football with the DawgNation experts ahead of Georgia’s big game against Missouri? Well DawgNation has you covered.

On Thursday, DawgNation’s Brandon Adams and Mike Griffith will be at the Marlow’s in Brookhaven(3575 Durden Dr NE #301, Atlanta, GA 30319) to take your questions and talk about Georgia football.

Also, if you entered the Marlow’s Tavern DawgNation Invasion to LSU contest, the winner will be announced LIVE! If you haven’t entered, visit DawgNation.com by the 20th and click on DawgNation Invasion in the menu to enter. The Georgia-LSU game figures to be one of the games of the college football season so this is definitely something you’ll want to get in on.

The festivities start at 6 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. so come on by, have a bite to eat and talk some Georgia football with us. You’ll be able to talk about all sorts of things, whether it be Jake Fromm, Justin Fields or Kirby Smart. These events are always a great time and this one will be as well.